


Dream the Dead

by WikiMB



Series: What's Next? [2]
Category: Devil May Cry
Genre: Angst and Humor, But the others don't, Family Feels, Gen, He is aware everything isn't real, Post-DMC5, TW: Mention of abuse in Ch. 3, Vergil dreams about alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:07:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23362936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WikiMB/pseuds/WikiMB
Summary: Vergil dreams of his life as if it was unaffected by his mother's horrific death in demon invasion. Eva is well and alive but also accordingly to the time passing she is an older woman with visible, inevitable ageing process. He also meets Dante, whose profession deviates from what he is known for in real life. Despite the difference Lady is still a person, who accompanies him in his tasks. None of the people seemed bothered by the dangers of demons preying - since such creatures existed only in the mythology books.It seems to be an utopian picture of what Vergil's life could have been without the unfortunate, life changing incident, when he was only 8 just like his twin brother.But is it really as good as it seems to be?Perhaps gaining full consciousness during a dream makes quite a difference...
Relationships: Dante & Lady (Devil May Cry), Dante & Vergil (Devil May Cry), Eva & Vergil (Devil May Cry)
Series: What's Next? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680382
Comments: 4
Kudos: 31





	1. Eva

**Author's Note:**

> 1) Technically the short story takes place a little after my "What's Next?" fanfiction since there are like 2 references to it in this one. But don't worry - such mentions are rather minor and aren't necessary to go with the flow of this new story. But I'm warning you just in case.
> 
> 2) I'm going to update everyday.
> 
> 3) I am really happy that I finished my second fanfiction. I guess the whole social distancing and self-isolation helped with that a lot. When I started writing that story I didn't really expect to everything to change so much in this world. Sometimes there can be benefits of this situation.
> 
> 4) I apologize for the mistakes found. English isn't my native language but I do my best to correct all the possible errors.
> 
> 5) The title of the story comes from a song under the same name by a band Caligula's Horse. Pardon, being so horny for prog metal and this band especially like this - at least the Chapter titles are made up by me XD

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A yearning image his dream disclosed something what could never be real no matter how much Vergil wished. A lonely standing mansion, where he grew up in, in the middle of a large area of fields. His mother waiting for her son to come with a smile forming on her face to see him well and sharing a similar joy.  
> But Vergil couldn't believe it - he couldn't stand it.

_The overpowering weight of eyelids forced them to fall down as soon as the silver-haired man had rested his body on bed’s mattress. All muscles too relaxed to desire wriggling around to find the best position – at this point any one was comfortable. Breath was getting slower but significantly deeper. A minute did not pass and the overwhelming power of dreams consumed the man and offered him the intense night without leaving the building, his room or even a bed._

* * *

Vergil observed himself approaching his childhood house just how it was in this carefree period. A lonely standing mansion in the fields around, without depressing imagery of urbanization and progression surrounding it. The noise was coming only from the wind humming and moving the trees’ leaves instead of the city’s traffic nearby. A warm gust of wind could be felt on his face – that’s all he felt, unaware of why he even walked towards the house.

He watched himself opening the front door and ending up immediately “attacked” by his mother’s tight, warm hug. She looked different than he remembered her as a young boy. Wrinkles forming around her eyes and mouth could be clearly seen. Hair nearly gray just as his own – but due to natural ageing instead. The smile forming in the corners of her lips, despite these differences, gave the exact same impression as she did when she was younger. Similarly to her eyes, despite the visible wrinkles appearing as her smile pushed up her cheeks.

The _dream Vergil_ exchanged a smile with her. As they freed themselves from the greeting hug, for a brief moment they faced themselves looking at each other genuinely happy to see each other once again. But not as if the met each other after these nearly fourty years but more as if her son had come back from a longer trip. _Conscious Vergil_ was unable to tell what was the exact context behind their interactions and observed it curious – waiting for what was coming next.

As his mother moved away as a way to invite him to the living room, suddenly _conscious Vergil_ felt he got control over his _dream self_. As soon as that happened the smile, which his _dream self_ still had, dropped and ended up replaced by his both serious and a little confused gaze. He registered an image instantly, which was hard for him to take as real. The rooms he remembered as burnt down and in a significantly damaged condition after the Qliphot episode, were just like in his childhood. Maybe not exactly like around that time. It seemed clear that place had been under a few rearrangements and renovations a few times. His mother still alive, living there peacefully and just getting old. Him still visiting her…? Was this an image of what his life would be…?

_It’s a dream. Only a dream…_

The elderly woman turned around in a wonder of why the son had not approached to her yet as she expected him to do. The sudden shift of Vergil’s expression rose a worry in her and she needed to clarify that unexpected change. Vergil froze up, stopping his gaze at certain spots and moving it quickly around. In some ways he seemed to be anxious by acting this way.

“What’s wrong?” Eva – his mother, spoke worried as she came closer to her adult son.

“This cannot be real, can it?” he replied still bewildered by all of this. Not only by this clearly alternative universe but also by the fact that he was fully aware in the dream and unable to just passively to observe the course of this dream sequence.

His response naturally brought up confusion in his mother as she expected anything else to hear than that. She was unsure what Vergil actually meant by that.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand. What’s worrying you so much?”

It was awkward to be in charge of his own _dream self_ and fully aware of the reality, while the other dream entities representing people known to him responded in a manner that indicated that the dream universe was an undisputable fact, a reality. But should he care he would be taken as mad?

“You, me, this place. That’s all just a dream. Why are you acting as if it wasn’t?” should Vergil really expect dream representations of the known people to be aware of this fact, though?

The confusion grew in Eva, she took a little step back.

“We’ve talked about this many times, Vergil. I thought it was finally over…” her voice changed from confused to sounding somewhat annoyed – her palm rubbing her forehead could not indicate that better “It’s great Dante’s here. You always listened to him better about this…”

“How so? I remember the demon attack concerning this house severely. The creatures there…” Eva did not let him finish.

“You’ve been told many times. It was all an illusion. A very bad dream sent by Mundus. He was too much of a coward to fight your father face to face and decided to make the most cowardish move ever. Tormenting his sons by sending them these horrible images. You and Dante had them. Dante woke up terrified and in tears searching for me. When it comes to you… You had to be very terrified to the point that was the only time we saw you transforming into that nightmarish… monster. It was too dangerous for me to calm you down the same way I did with Dante. It hurt me I could not help you then but I was scared you were possessed… It pains me to this day that despite the awful form you had you still cried in the same way, like an 8 year old boy does… but I was too scared to approach you. But it’s what you can be really as your father explained to me earlier but I never took that seriously… But I don’t want to remember you this way. You’re still a good person, and not a scary demon.”

Was that what happened to lead to the current outcome Vergil could see before his eyes? His mother alive but all he had gone through was just an illusion? But then what about his father?

“I don’t remember any of that… but…”

“According to the therapist it’s considered a normal reaction and but it’s so saddening to see you have to deal with this memory loss. There is many happy things, which happened later and you just don’t remember them. No matter what. And now apparently you’re having also another attack of memory loss as well…” she spoke worried and sad – her voice lowering and getting quiet as she said that.

“Another… attack?”

“He said you can forget the recent episodes usually for no reasons but a distress can also trigger it… It’s been three years since you had one. I really hoped you’d do well finally. Curse Mundus and his twisted mind!” her voice rose in anger as she spoke the last sentence. Eva clearly possessed a well-earned hatred towards the named demon.

Then she continued sounding sad once again “I think the only reason for why Dante does so well was because he never turned. This had to terrify you as much what if not more than me!”

“Where is my father then?” Vergil seemed really intrigued by the story he had just heard. Interesting how a dream can provide such an advanced plot including his own ability to interact with it in a conscious way.

She sighed before she finally spoke.

“I’m not really sure what really happened to him. Since you had these horrible dreams, he’s been missing. He went after Mundus to stop these horrible nightmares. Perhaps he successfully killed Mundus but he never came back. Maybe he also died then…” she explained.

Some things stayed the same as they were – to comment that observation a quiet “Oh” escaped his mouth with a quick gaze at the floor. Vergil still felt strange in that odd reality of the dream, which seemed to force him to treat it a little more serious as any of his comments could face a real-life-like reaction from the others.

“You know… I know it’s hard living like this, Vergil, but I have unfinished business to do. I’m so happy you’re back from your holiday trip and I’m curious to hear what you were doing… If you remember… But I think it’s a good moment for you to talk to Dante about this. He always helps you with that, right?” she added as she was directing herself towards stairs.

This suddenly cut off dialogue could be taken as Eva not caring too much to engage with her son. But the way she said these words was so soft, soothing, as if she wanted to ensure Vergil would not actually feel ignored.

Despite the fact Eva was just a dream manifestation of her, that sweet materly voice in some ways **moved** him. Like a song carrying a lot of sentimental memories of events and people, who will never come back and are just a mere thought inside one’s mind. Vergil felt disappointed she was not real, she was just a pathetic, misleading dream. Somehow that was relieving he did not have to watch her and listen to her at this point. Her fake presence began to frustrate him. Seeing _dream Dante_ looked like a more tolerable idea for him no matter how divergent he could turn out to be. But watching such a realistic representation of his dead mother felt like a very awful prank, a disgusting trick created by his own mind. He had to put a stop to their interaction and find Dante, wherever he was. But where Vergil could actually find him?

“Where is he, then?” Vergil asked, his voice sounding a little rough out of annoyance. Eva detected this change instantly and quickly stopped and turned around vividly for an elderly woman.

“Please, do not take it as me not caring about you. But I know from my experience that it’s always better when you talk to Dante. He went through the same and… his attitude always helps everyone to get their attention distracted from what’s worrying them. Trust me, Vergil.”

“I see that. But I just want to know where he is.” Vergil replied coldly, his gaze showing a some kind of contempt. Not directed at Eva, but at the fact that was just a dream. An illusion, which was so real that the awareness of this was angering him and wished not to watch _dream Eva_ ever again. Despite this, his mother saw it as his son scolding her.

“I’m really sorry… I wish I could help you with this. I really, really do… But… I think I’m just really bad at his because of the nature of your nightmares. Even if you can see me well and living… That makes you feel even worse. I can see that in your eyes, you are angry with me. Dante will help you. I promise.” she rubbed his shoulder and despite his fierce angry stare, he was known for, her voice remained calm and soft.

Vergil could not stand her presence any longer. Any minute passing with her felt like being stabbed by more and more blades through his chest. His look fixated on the floor as he felt he did not have the strength to watch her any longer.

Perhaps that was not the first time Eva watched her son acting like that way in this dream universe as she did not continue her soft and caring speech more. She seemed to know there was no point in reassuring him more about her intentions. Eva let out a soft sigh and finally spoke where Dante could be found.


	2. Dante (part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the face to face talk with Eva turned out to be too much to bear for Vergil, he found a little comfort in meeting his dream altered twin brother - Dante.

Vergil had not had a chance to observe the world outside the house before he had regained control over _his dream self_. He would lie if he said he did not find the surrounding image stunning and in some ways strange. The mansion was on the lonely hill, which was covered with mostly grass and a few trees. From this perspective a distant view of a city could be observed. Not as enormous as it really was – not as the known metropolitan city it turned into a few decades later in real life. It had been a long time since Vergil had seen this particular landscape – it was hard for him to tell if that was only dream’s work or how this image used to actually look like. The details regarding his childhood were a little blurry.

The only noise was coming from the wind as before. The sky was clear, free of clouds, which normally have the possibility to block the sun. The clean sky allowed the sunlight to hit Vergil’s face with its warming effects. All of that contributed to a peaceful perception of this image. In some ways worryingly calm and innocent to Vergil – any time he was around this mansion, he could never feel even indifferent – not to mention relaxed.

Whatever duty Dante had to do outside, it was apparent he was resting at that moment. From the distance, the wind moving his long, white hair was enough of a distinct trait to identify his younger twin brother from the distance. He was sitting on a lonely log. Long enough for Vergil to join in and have a talk. As his older brother approached him closer more features could be seen and worth a little attention to. Vergil remembered Dante to wear unique to him, long coats. Leather ones were his favorite at that moment – and no matter how hot it could be outside, he always dressed up one.

As half-demons they don’t really have to worry about being overheated or freezing – therefore they could really dress as they wished regardless of temperature outside. Freezing cold or unbearable heat – that never posed a problem. A this point the clothing was only a matter of an expression of style.

This _dream Dante_ seemed to follow human’s way of dressing, which was meant to fit the weather – light shirt instead of a heavy, leather coat. That was an interesting change to see, though not enough to give too much thought to this particular difference.

Approaching Vergil was quickly noticed by Dante as he rose his head in search of a source of the suspicious sound. A little smile appeared on his face and the idea of having a conversation was something he was quite interested in. The greeting and then a gesture pointing at the empty place on a log, which he was sitting on, was his invitation to accept or reject. Well, that was what Vergil came for in the first place – no reasons to reject this intriguing offer.

“Tell me, what was your trip like? Wherever you went to… I forgot the name of that place…” Dante said.

“Huh? A trip?”

“Yeah… Why are you so surprised by that? You’ve just come back, right? So… Did you like it?” Dante continued, still not suspecting anything weird about his older brother.

“I guess… I liked it.”

“You’re guessing that?” Dante laughed finding Vergil’s wording so bizarre that it was amusing to him “No issues with saying it was a total crap!”

“No, I think I am content with this trip.” Vergil replied – he tried to figure out the most likely correct answer out of what he remembered from the very beginning of the dream. His _dream self_ seemed joyful… Though maybe in relation to seeing his mother after so much time.

“You know, I’m bad at remembering names. I know, I know... that you’ve told me many times the name! But sadly I forgot it!” Dante spoke as if he expected scolding from Vergil.

“I don’t remember neither.” Vergil spoke – in a completely serious manner – what was a reason for Dante bursting into a loud laugh.

“Damn, is this a name so bad you can’t even remember it?”

“I guess so…”

“No, but for real, you must remember it, right?”

“No, I really don’t.” Vergil said sounding not amused by that.

At this moment even Dante did not find that funny anymore and it was clear from his expression on his face that made him wonder. His gaze stuck on the grass moving a little from the wind.

“Do you at least remember anything from this trip?” Dante spoke worried.

“No.” Vergil replied coldly.

“Damn…” Dante’s voice lowered, sounding weirdly on a man known for his enthusiastic and cocky voice. His eyes focused on the city seen from the distance.

Vergil felt annoyed by the others acting so clueless about the obvious facts known in actual reality and pretending to be similarly unaware was too exhausting for him to bother anymore – even if faced with quite realistic reactions of disbelief or rejection.

“Dante. It’s all a dream. Can’t you really tell? Everything looks entirely different once we wake up from this dream.” Vergil broke the silence with his truth bomb.

The only commentary to this speech was Dante’s loud sigh. Then he proceeded to add a bit more verbal note as well.

“30 years in therapy, stuffed in drugs and you still talk about this shit?”

Vergil’s serious expression shifted into a bit more bamboozled one as he heard that.

“First of all, your mommy didn’t die. Go see for yourself if you really doubt that. Second of all, no, Mundus never tortured you. Third of all, no, giant trees sucking blood of humans exist only in fantasy, and you never summoned it.” Dante spoke clearly annoyed indicated by his pitch raised.

The denial felt very insulting to Vergil but he was unsure if it was worth fighting to prove Dante wrong. In this odd reality some things apparently never took place – and in a way that made him curious and annoyed.

“I thought I only saw my ‘mommy’ die because of Mundus involvement. What about the next two ‘delusions’, Dante?”

“See… No one knows for sure but that must be a side effect of these illusions. It’s strange you gradually started to believe in those as well. You were like thirty when you started that talk about Mundus and torture. And that tree thing was something you spoke about three years ago.”

“What if they really happened?”

“That’s out of option. You were never really kidnapped for ten years by this guy. But damn, I swear, the way you talked about it was very convincing! I’m glad you kinda got over it. There was a period when any vague mentions of torture, enslavement or kidnap would turn you into a mess. Maybe the drugs helped with that.”

“What you mean by a mess?”

“When we visited our mom together, sometimes you’d go berserk when I told you this never happened. You’d never touch her if she did it as well but me? You always wanted to beat me up for it! There was one time though when instead of fighting you just… bursted into tears as you tried to explain what you believed to go through. That really weirded me out then! Maybe that was when meds started working finally since that stopped your aggression directed at me ever since. Well, a life with a crazy brother ain’t easy!” Dante chuckled at the end.

Vergil realized that speaking more was certainly pointless. His only comment to Dante’s description was silence, and his gaze focused on the distant view. That did not go unnoticed by his younger brother. Surprisingly, his mood audibly brightened as he began talking again.

“You know, what? You’ve never seen my shop and I guess that will be a perfect way to redirect attention to the reality! My car is nearby. Are you ready?” Dante stood up as he finished his offer, indicating that at least he was ready to go at any moment.

“Well, that doesn’t look like a bad idea.” Vergil spoke still sitting down “But I think traveling with Yamato will make it quicker as we have no gear to carry with us.”

“Yamato…?” Dante found the name completely foreign and wondered what Vergil meant by his own idea.

“Our father’s gift given to me. Just like Rebellion was gifted to you.” Vergil replied seriously as he finally stood up – probably to make sure Dante would understand him better and see he was not playing with him. Sadly both names mentioned were completely unknown to his younger brother what his confusion forming on his face told.

“Yamato… Rebellion…? Father’s gifts? What are these things? Spells?” Dante’s confusion began to turn into a some kind of amusement.

“Devil Arms. Swords - to explain it in the simplest way. Don’t you have them?”

“Why would I need a sword?” Dante chuckled – a way to mask his confusion.

“In this world being weaponless is definitely not a good idea. How do you defend yourself from the demons then?” Vergil spoke completely serious and similarly confused to Dante but for a different reason.

“Demons?” Dante’s voice rose and then broke into a short laugh.

“Have you never seen one?”

“Demons don’t exist, Vergil.” Dante said amused. “It’s what kids believe in or some cults.”

“How demons do not exist if our father was clearly one? You’ve seen me turn into one long time ago. We’re half-demons.”

“I know this interpretation coming from our mother… But I… I just don’t believe in that. We aren’t demons. We are humans. Our father was a human. And Mundus is just a fairy tale told by our mother to calm us down. You were just born mental, Vergil. You must suffer from an unknown genetic disorder making your brain mad.”

“But you’ve seen me change into a beast.”

“I had these scary nightmares too, Vergil. But when I saw you like this I was clearly half-asleep. It had to be a dream. I am certain.” Dante’s voice lowered, somehow he was not as certain as he claimed to be.

“I see you’re worried, brother.” Vergil noticed as Dante went silent for a moment avoiding Vergil’s gaze. It seemed obvious his younger brother began to be anxious after the mention of a fact, which could not be refuted as easily as denial of their father’s real heritage and Mundus involvement.

“We are not demons.” Dante’s voice strengthened and nearly growled as he repeated what he claimed earlier.

“So you’ve never seen any strange creatures around this town or anywhere?”

“No, humans should be your biggest concern than mythological monsters, Vergil. No one has seen anything what you call demons. If you really don’t trust me with that, you can check that out when we go to the town. Better for us to really move on from that topic for good.” Dante said.

“Surely, not a bad idea. Dwelling on that is certainly pointless for now.” Vergil stood up from a log.

Silence remained between the twins as they walked. Vergil followed Dante’s direction as he looked around the field to notice a car parked somewhere. It was so strange that his younger brother was not even tempted to break this uncomfortable silence with a bad joke or another small talk about something even foolish. Anything regarding demons had to distress him, Vergil observed. Just like he remembered Dante to be dismissive of his demonic heritage as a very young man.  
  


It intrigued Vergil what his twin was like in this dream reality. Following Dante to his replica shop would give a broader perspective on this question, which he had.


	3. Lady

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The somber mood faded when the opportunity of talking and showing his passion occured to Dante. Even Vergil was genuinely impressed by what Dante's "simple" hobby leaded him to until his brother's friend showed up with her own work to present. As a new guest it looked like another time to listen someone's introduction - this time it was Lady's. It seemed to be just a brief small talk but it's course leaded to interesting outcomes.

While already in the car – Dante in the driver’s seat, the mood between the twin brothers brightened once again. That was a perfect opportunity for Dante to tell Vergil something more about himself – specifically regarding his shop. It was still unknown for his older brother if in this odd dream universe Dante’s work specialization was even a little similar to what he knew from reality. Thankfully his younger twin was very willing to say everything on his own. For that moment Vergil listened a little curious as he was watching the buildings passing. None of this landscape looked similar to the metropolitan suburbs he remembered.

“Maybe you’ve heard that story many times but we don’t always have occasions to talk so often anyway! Damn… I never thought crafting gun replicas and making swords can be so enjoyable! And selling them for the enthusiast? Even more pleasant not to mention profitable!”

“It sounds it truly makes you happy.” Vergil replied.

“I rarely have moments waking up and thinking that my job sucks. Sometimes I may be a little tired after a more intense day but it’s not me being tired of this in general! Also I really love working with Lady. She makes it even better.”

“Lady?” Vergil recognized the name. It intrigued him that something in this universe is similar to how it was really. At least when it comes having this woman as a teammate as he suspected.

“Ah, I see. Her real name is Mary. I know that sounded confusing to call her just a lady. But that was a name she doesn’t want to be associated with for very personal reasons and Lady is the name she goes by for now.”

Surely, Vergil was not surprised by her strange nickname. His reaction was a response to a surprising fact despite such divergent history of this universe, they were still working together. It made him wonder how their fates crossed in this alternative scenario. What bonded them together?

“Anyways, the way we met… She was one of my clients. Everything was so interesting for her. Then she asked if all of these guns and swords were made by me. Of course they were! She shocked me when she asked if I offered any courses – Lady wanted me to teach her this craft. Not gonna lie, that was really flattening. I’m not an experienced teacher but she enjoys learning from me. That’s how we work together now.” A small smile formed on Dante’s face as he spoke. The softer tone of his voice also indicated the liking he felt towards his friend.

“Is she your significant other?”

“What?” Dante’s voice sounded visibly higher.

“A girlfriend.”

“Hell no, Vergil! Not every woman I like must be my girlfriend! I enjoy our friendship and I wouldn’t like it to be anything more than that.”

“Curious answer. I’d expect you to at least admit you have already someone else in a serious relationship.”

“I have rotten luck with women…” Dante’s voice significantly lowered. It seemed apparent the “rotten luck” was not just a mild annoyance to this man. This significant change of tone did not go unnoticed by Vergil and quickly addressed it.

“What does it exactly mean?”

“Well, I always happen to date women, who change their mind quickly. Annoying, isn’t it? At least you’re the lucky one… were…”

“I was?” Vergil’s brow rose.

The reply was preceded by a sigh Dante let out. As if he felt a sudden pressure on his chest.

“You know? I think it’s blessing in this case that you lost a memory of this. I don’t think it’s worth telling you what happened and ruin your day…”

“I don’t think I’ll take it as my memory anyway – I take most of what you say regarding me as a distant story and nothing significant and very close to me. But I’m really curious what you mean by that.”

“I’m not really sure if I should… tell you that…” Dante said.

“I don’t even remember this woman. Or whatever you want to say. Just tell me.” Vergil insisted.

“I’m not sure what’s sadder. This tragedy or your complete loss of memory of them as if they never existed.” Dante sighed “Okay. The thing is, you were rather happily married. You had a son. Then, ten years ago, you lost all of it. To a deadly accident.”

“So Nero isn’t really around here…” Vergil commented.

“Nero?” Dante apparently did not recognize the name. “If you mean by that – your son – no, his name was Kyle. He was a very fun kid. He got the looks from his mom though. Dark hair, green eyes, freckles – and kinda prone to getting sick. He’d be twenty two today. I miss him every day.”

“What about my wife?”

“I never had chances to get to know her better. She was always working, don’t you remember? That’s how you met her – also while she was busy with a job to do in the city, which we’re approaching now. That’s a shame that drunk asshole on a road took all of it from you and even me… I never got over it – sometimes I envy your condition.” Dante’s voice significantly lowered and slowed down. Apparent that was a tragedy he was still affected by.

Conveniently their car route was nearly over as they drove up to a certain building. Vergil would swear it look nearly identical to the shop he knew in reality. Despite this, there could be seen small differences found in details. And the most noticeable one caused a slight amusement in this older twin. Vergil’s lips’ corner squeezed, which formed a little smirk on his face as he noticed the neon lights above the building’s door. The neon banner said “Devils Never Cry”. That was close enough to the real name of Dante’s shop – “Devil May Cry”. He always wondered of the origins of this odd phrase despite having a few vague ideas for Dante’s reason. But what this _dream Dante_ meant by such words this time? Perhaps he would find out sooner or later.

As the front door was opened, a familiar image emerged. Dante’s furnishing taste remained pretty much identical to what he remembered. The differences were with the amount of weapons displayed – or actually their replicas this time. An impressive collection of guns was adorning the walls – indeed Dante mastered his craft. Swords and daggers placed on the walls or some of the showcases only affected this image for better. Vergil could not help his own curiosity and his gaze kept being stuck on these well-crafted replicas… well, he had a hard time thinking of them as just replicas because of how well-made they all were. He would never suspect his brother to be so gifted.

Dante’s observed his older twin brother’s intense interest as indicated by his lack of comments and just silent watching nearly every object he had displayed in his shop. He took it as a compliment for his skills what could be exposed through his smile, as he was looking at Vergil’s visible curiosity and some kind of impression with Dante’s talent.

“I see you seem to like it but I’d still like to hear some feedback. So… what you think?”

Vergil’s attention moved to Dante as he heard his voice breaking the silence. During that time there was something else he managed to notice about the objects. The demonic aura was clearly running through them. It could not be really seen. Instead it could be sensed by him. It was a similar energy the violin possessed after being used by Vergil for longer time.

“Impressive.” Vergil said “I’d not expect you to be so… gifted.”

“Finally! Finally there is something making even your jaw dropping, right?”

“Indeed.” Vergil replied “The demonic aura filling your replicas must be also helping them a lot.”

Dante took the last comment as disregard to the amount of effort he put into his craft – he interpreted it as if their quality came from a made up “black magic” not his talent.

“I can reassure you it’s all an effect of hard-work, not some fairies using magic to make it look decent!”

Vergil realized he was clearly misunderstood and intervened instant to clear up his intention behind his comment.

“No. I mean that while working you’re channeling your inner demonic energy into them. That makes these replicas… quite special on their own.”

This Dante did not seem to believe in anything related to demons and laughed at the idea.

“This again? Come on, Vergil. Let’s not go back to this topic. Maybe, you’d like me to introduce you to my friend? She’s probably busy preparing something on her own now…”

Just on the right moment Lady could be seen leaving from the door of the other room. A strange weapon was carried by her. Nearly as big as her but it did not seem to be a sword or a hammer. Judging by its “anatomy” that was similar to a rocket launcher. Vergil was almost certain it was the same one he had seen her and Dante using – but he lacked words to name this “thing”.

“It’s Kalina Ann” Lady said as she rushed joyfully to Dante. She seemed very deep into her excitement of crafting a replica of her own – perhaps for the first time? Or was it her first successful attempt? She did not even notice the other man standing next to Dante. But in a matter of seconds she gasped surprised by the unexpected guest.

“I’m sorry for taking you by surprise. That’s my brother – Vergil!” Dante said while pointing his finger at his brother – as if that was even necessary to do so “And, Vergil, this is my friend and helpmate – Lady.”

“Is this him? The one, who has these bad nightmares all the time?” she said.

“Not all the time, sometimes he just takes them as real and gets upset if you tell him the facts.” Dante chuckled.

“I’m so sorry.” Lady spoke in a weirdly caring voice for Vergil – he was more used to her hostile attitude towards him from real life.

“So you said it’s Kalina Ann?” Dante decided to move the topic to the weapon Lady carried. He pointed out the name she had brought up before she had been interrupted by Vergil’s presence.

“Yes. It’s dedicated to her. My mother.” she said.

“I guess she would really like it.” Dante spoke softly “Not sure if it’s the right moment to ask this question but it looks like a good opportunity now. I always wondered - how did she really die?”

“It’s tough to explain. I don’t know the details… But she was confirmed to be a victim of… murder.” she replied with her voice significantly lowering.

“Perhaps the intention behind it was a ritual.” Vergil suddenly joined their conversation what was indicated even more by his step taken closer to Lady.

Dante rolled his eyes as he heard it but Lady’s reaction was a little surprising in this world full of skepticism towards Vergil’s thoughts.

“You know… It actually makes sense, Vergil.” She said, her eyes stuck on the floor as if she was trying to remember something. “The way she was killed did not look like a revenge or an accident during a robbery.”

“I wouldn’t like to suggest that someone very close to you could be responsible.” Vergil added.

“Yes…” she froze “On the same day I remember my father coming home after she died. I could see some stains of blood on his shirt – but I believed him to be innocent because he worked as a butcher at the time… If he really ever did… And he always came back clean after work…”

“Really, Lady? You believe, Vergil? I know your dad was an asshole but not to this point, though?” Dante decided to interrupt.

“I suspected him for so long to be in a secret cult or organization, Dante. There was many odd things about his behavior or job routine… And when we got the tragic news it did not shock him in the slightest. He never grieved her death. Sometimes I saw him smiling about this before he saw me watching his face. He probably… Yes…” her voice trembled.

Hearing her voice breaking made Dante instinctually rush to grab her shoulder and softly rub it to help her compose herself. Instead she quickly turned around, almost dodging Dante’s reached hand and went to the room she had left from earlier. Apparent it was she did not want anyone’s presence at the time. The twins were left in a little awkward situation especially for Dante – helpless about Lady and angry at Vergil.

“Did you have to bring that up?” Dante spoke loudly.

“Wasn’t it you starting it in the first place?” Vergil defended himself.

“But I didn’t move the topic of her father! It’s very hard for her!”

“Dante!” suddenly Lady’s voice could be heard from the other room.

Dante turned around just ready to rush to the room until she added “Could I talk to Vergil?”

That was a strange request for Dante. Why would she want to talk to his twin brother? But he did not protest and just softly pushed Vergil in a direction of the room. The older twin was similarly surprised and confused – in a way feeling already uneasy about the idea of having such a face to face talk with a woman, who is normally hostile to his presence. A woman, who normally knew he had worked with his awful, disgusting father towards one of the bloodiest and most destructive goals for the humanity. But for this particular form of her saw him as a stranger. A twin brother of her friend. The poor twin struggling with some kind of mental illness. He was seen as someone harmless and innocent by the others in that dream.

What would she want? That was question ringing loudly in his mind as he was approaching her. He saw her sitting on one of the chairs, head put down – a very oddly image to watch as Vergil remembered Lady to be a person avoiding showing her vulnerable side even to Dante. It was common to observe her attitude being sassy and in some ways intimidating. The hostile side was especially present towards Vergil – something he was not too surprised about. And now… her behavior and attitude was the opposite of what he was used to.

“How… how do you know that? Did you know him? Did you see it?” she said gazing down instead of maintaining an eye contact with Vergil.

“I was a child when that happened… I couldn’t be there. But the dreams… told me. I knew Arkham killed her in a ritual, which was meant to grant him the power straight from Hell.”

“Sounds like this typical cult’s reasoning – irrational and so cruel. No demons and hell exist yet these freaks are ready to spill the blood for it. The blood of my mother…” Lady spoke saddened.

After a brief moment of silence Lady realized something.

“How do you know my father’s name?”

“The dreams said… at least that’s how my memories are explained by the others.”

“Maybe they aren’t entirely just dreams then.” She said “Maybe there is the truth hidden in them. It’s impossible to just guess this name. Especially when he used a pseudonym all the time and only me and my mom know his real name. Sometimes people believe the ‘mental’ ones are just very gifted – like you.”

Vergil quietly chuckled to himself – finally someone made sense.

Lady put down her head once again. Her voice slowed down and got quieter.

“I am so at loss of words regarding this man’s cruelty. I never wanted to believe he could be so entirely evil… He had to love this woman once. Sometimes he was able to do nice things for her and me…”

“Nice things…?”

“…Buying flowers. New dresses for me… Singing happy birthday to me. Buying meds whenever I felt sick – to the point when he was annoying. He seemed to try…”

“What about the scar on your nose… and these on your wrists?” Vergil observed.

A reply was proceeded by a brief pause necessary for Lady to gather some thoughts for a proper, tough response. The hardest truth to admit for her – easier to do in front of a stranger, which was Vergil. Dante was someone she looked up to and did not wish him to see her so broken, so messed up mentally.

“I see…Yes… You’re right. He was… he never was a good man… These scars… these are his ‘gifts’ too” tears welled up in her eyes and the voice started breaking, her gaze stuck on the floor again to avoid Vergil’s relatively stoic expression.

A short pause gave a space for the sobs coming through Lady’s throat. Her mind entirely occupied by the painful, realistic images of her past – fueled by her father’s occasional moments of kindness and cruel, inhuman actions also directed at her. It was hard to merge this image of her father into one.

Vergil just sat there, a little unsure of what he was supposed to do at that moment. His calm attitude should not be mistaken for his indifference and coldness at that moment. In some ways, he was shocked to have it all told right into his face. He was aware of Lady’s fate through the dry, emotionless facts, but he never got do see it through the more personal, emotional lenses, which Lady was just sharing with. Somehow he never managed to consider how much pain that woman actually carried in reality.

“He is dead, isn’t he?” Vergil asked, breaking the uncomfortable for him silence.

“He lost the battle to lung cancer a few years ago. A smoker…” she was wiping her cheeks from the tears “I always hated him but even when I saw him dying… I couldn’t help crying even if I promised myself I’d never shed a single tear for that bastard.”

“Sometimes it’s harder to do than say.” Vergil commented.

Once again a shorter pause remained but this time it was a moment to breath for Lady. A few seconds to compose herself from the previous burst of tears. At this point she began feeling guilty for making Vergil carrying this burden of comforting her. Even if he never did it as directly as Dante would but his quiet presence was calming her down even more than hugs she would expect from the younger twin.

“I’m sorry for that crying, I didn’t want to drag you into it just to see me sobbing like a kid but… I wouldn’t do it if not for this particular day. I finished this replica in memory of my mom and I couldn’t help thinking about these things during that time I worked on it.” she began explaining her behavior, which she felt ashamed of “It’s better for us to go back to Dante…”

“There is nothing to feel sorry about. I’m glad to see you doing so well here. And now that’s indeed a good idea to focus on what’s current.”

As he finished Vergil stood up to approach the door. His hand was nearly touching the handle to open it until he heard the last words spoken to him behind his back.

“I… I’d like to say the last thing.” she spoke suddenly. His face turned, brows risen in curiosity of what she wanted to say.

“Thank you.” She delivered genuinely sounding words. Something so odd for Vergil to hear from that woman’s mouth instead of sneer or sarcasm. But he kept reminding himself in that dream everything was entirely different. Although he was in some ways glad to hear it as he felt it as a warmth in his chest – something about this moment made him remember his last talk to Kyrie and his similarly spoken “Thank you” to her. This memory helped him to understand and feel Lady’s position even more than before. It was an oddly comforting and relieving feeling to be on the other role this time.

“I’m glad to help.” he replied slightly abashed what he managed to cover good enough with his known stoic face.

“And also… Please, I beg you. Don’t say it to Dante. I’ll do it myself when I feel ready. Promise you won’t tell him that.” She added.

“I promise. And… I suffer from memory loss anyway as you know.” Vergil smiled and snorted.

As a reply he received Lady’s short chuckle and then a smile forming on her face, which did not recover fully from the earlier flood of grief, which had appeared suddenly. To such a response a similar expression could be briefly seen on Vergil’s face until he disappeared from the door’s frame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The talk with Kyrie, which Vergil remembers is described in this chapter for anyone curious how it looked -> https://archiveofourown.org/works/20516501/chapters/53109898
> 
> Just prepare for feels before reading it.


	4. Dante (part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dante didn't seem to be happy with the way the situation with Lady had been handled. Vergil wondered what could anger his brother so much - but the more he tried to get an answer the more his twin brother was ready to use drastic speech choices.

It should not be surprising that Dante had many questions to spill onto Vergil or Lady as he finally saw them leaving the room after a while. Especially when he observed the condition the woman was. Clearly red, teary eyes, red cheeks and nose. These signs made his urge of bombarding anyone with questions even stronger. It was devastating for Dante to see this poor woman like that. But in a brief reflection he realized Lady was the last person he should overwhelm with his demands for answers. So he decided to take the comforting approach instead.

“Are you okay?” Dante spoke softly as he got closer to Lady in intention to offer any possible hugs or patting – if she wanted. Surely that was tone of voice rare to hear on him.

She seemed packing her stuff to leave the shop – not necessary to run away from Dante and his question. It was getting late and this building should have been closed a few minutes ago. Lady’s avoidant behavior did not stop at her focus on packing, her face and eyes did not even made a contact with Dante for a moment. As if she was avoiding looking at him and that was something what Dante hated to observe.

“I’m fine but I need to go now. Some time for myself.” she spoke without gazing at him at all.

“Did I do something wrong?” Dante asked worried.

Finally her eyes moved to him. The question made her feel uneasy and abashed – she did not want Dante to interpret her behavior this way. Lady was full of trust and respect to Dante but she would feel bad burdening him with her issues.

“No, it’s not about you. But I just don’t want to talk about it. It’s just unnecessary. Please, don’t take it as something against you.” She said.

“I see… But you can always count on me! I’m always open to help if you need it.” Dante said clearly not satisfied and calmed by Lady’s reply.

“I know Dante… But sometimes… People need to be alone with their thoughts… I promise we’ll talk about it.” Lady spoke as she was about to leave the shop. Then her figure disappeared behind the closing door.

Dante did not seem content with it anyway – his lips squeezed. Vergil observed Dante pacing around the shop – as if he was about to prepare himself to work on something. Quite possibly in relation to the new replica – Kalina Ann, but could not that wait until tomorrow as the shop was closed?

“Aren’t we going home?” Vergil asked breaking the uncomfortable silence surrounding that place.

“Don’t you see? I have some work to do around this new replica. It needs to be displayed for tomorrow. It’d be nice if you helped.” Dante replied but strangely coldly for him. A hidden anger could clearly heard. It was obvious that current task was only an excuse.

“Can’t this wait for tomorrow? Lady will probably take care of it anyway.” Vergil replied still avoiding any commentary on Dante’s clearly annoyed tone of his voice.

“No.” Dante replied roughly, nearly growling. “It will take a short while if you move your ass and help.”

Vergil rolled his eyes but he had nothing to lose by assisting Dante with placing that weapon on a showcase. Surely, it was only a matter of minutes to put all the elements on proper display there. Doing so he hoped for Dante to calm down a little and speak more what he did not want to at that moment this way.

Just as expected they were done working in a relatively short time. Without any excuse tasks to do for Dante, Vergil used this opportunity to finally bring the topic back.

“You seem to struggle with something.” Vergil finally referred to Dante’s mood expecting a proper reply to that.

“No shit.” Dante spoke as he was done cleaning the showcase’s glass and not looking at Vergil at all.

“Why so dramatic, Dante? I thought it was clear Lady would need some space for herself. While you seem unhappy about it.”

“You know what?” A rag he carried to clean the glass was thrown fierce to the floor to Vergil’s surprise. Should he expect a fight? “None of your business! Focus on yourself. We’re going home.”

“Are you worried you did something wrong? Perhaps your paranoia makes you worried you’re being rejected once again, Dante?” the words, which were spat by Vergil with open mockery tone. It only strengthened that the mention of rejection felt like being hit in the head by Dante. It was certain Vergil touched the sensitive spot, which hurt.

Normally, Vergil would expect a sword fight but this Dante seemed reassured of being a human and such an idea did not even occur this man. Despite this the man was very willing to add a little of violence to the vocabulary used in his current speech. Dante rushed fast towards Vergil, his angered eyes looked at his and instantly felt a very strong slap on his face. That caught him off guard and surely took it as an offense.

“What? Are we going to fight like a children? Slapping our faces? Throwing fists? Is this all you can do, Dante?” Vergil taunted, Dante found it odd that the only reaction to that slap was caused by the physical force yet his older twin did not react to pain at all.

The passive-aggressive words coming from audibly sneering tone of Vergil’s voice were infuriating Dante even more. Being called out on throwing a fight stopped him for a moment from doing another slap but not for too long.

“You better keep your mouth shut!” Dante spoke loudly.

“And you should better learn some civilized manners.” Vergil added calmly.

The next reply was meant to be a fist Dante launched at his brother but to his shock Vergil managed to catch it before it reached his face. The grip was inhumanly strong from Dante’s perspective.

“If you wanna fight I’m ready for it, but so are you?” Vergil sneered.

“If this means shutting your mouth…”

“Try me.” A voice distorted by demonic energy visibly running through Vergil interrupted what Dante was about to finish. Just this subtle, partial Devil Trigger form, which gave the distorted, echoing voice, luminous, slit eyes and prominent aura surrounding Vergil was enough threatening to change Dante’s mind instant and see his wide-open eyes and mouth.

Vergil should have remembered in this world no one had ever really seen demons or anything as paranormal as them. Such an image was not even just shocking. Seeing your beloved, troubled twin brother turning is a such terrifying creature had to be a horror to watch. It was amusing for Vergil to observe the same brother fall to his knees and covering his face with an arm like a scared child. He could not help himself from laughing despite the attempts of stopping himself from it. The laughter echoed in a such a awful form, which was fortunately fading as his laugh ceased.

Dante’s mouth definitely tried to create a meaningful speech judging by its movement but nothing was coming from it. His arms were not even trembling – they were shaking. That was quite a pitiful look of Dante – the most pitiful he had ever seen and was unsure of what to think of it. Rather not worth bigger thoughts knowing it was only the _dream Dante_ behaving so helplessly. The real Dante used to be a genuine threat not so long time ago.

“And you’re done fighting already?” Vergil sneered at Dante.

A form of meaningful speech managed to be finally made from this terrified to death man.

“Vergil, what the fuck is this?!”

“Haven’t we talked we’re half-demons? A demon blood is running through our veins… Should I prove it to you once again?” Vergil spoke.

“No!” Dante hated the idea of seeing his twin brother like this. What a shame the form he had seen was not even close to what they could actually turn into “Spare me this horror!”

At least instead of helplessly sitting on the floor Dante began to stand up. Some loud puffing could be heard from all that stress this poor thing had just experienced. Vergil would expect to see a face full of fear directed at him but instead it looked as Dante carried a mix of growing worry and kind of sadness eating him. Without saying a word Dante moved to his desk and sat down there in silence.

All of that behavior was seen as childish by Vergil and at this point he really felt as if he was dealing with a child instead of a grown man he knew. A little annoyed he approached Dante at least reassured that he would not start a fight ever again. Fortunately he did not have to do anything to force him to talk. After a while Dante did this on his one in a calmer voice than earlier.

“You know, Vergil? Yes, I always denied what you tried to tell me. I really wanted to believe it’s all a lie. A some kind of mean joke we were told by the ugly kids.” Dante snorted but not in amusement “But you’re right, Vergil. We are demons. Full blooded awful monsters people fear and hate in all cultures. Are you happy now?”

Dante continued his monologue.

***

_I remember these unforgettable days. I turned just like you a few times. But I had no control especially as a confused teenager. I was fortunate no one had ever watched me change! When I was alone once I remember feeling this strange, scary feeling of horror. I did not know where it was coming from. It felt like anxiety but not quite enough. I was so tense. I couldn’t focus on anything I wanted to do – homework, cleaning up my room, playing outside. None of it could distract me from that feeling. This weird tension grew as my fear was getting stronger. I was so scared what was happening to me. And then I saw myself turn, even worse than you. I had claws, pointy teeth. My soft skin looked like that one lizards have. I was so afraid to look at myself in the mirror… But you know what? My curiosity was stronger than fear then! Haha…_

Dante took a pause.

_That was one of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever done. That image haunts me in my nightmares. As I saw this…. Monster…. I’m not sure what I was even doing later but I remember this mirror shattering into pieces. And I ran crying in my room… How fortunate that I turned back as I was done doing that, haha._

After a brief pause Dante continued his speech.

_I had a few significant women in my life. I truly loved them dearly. But if I loved them why did I never stay? Maybe they did not love me back? Not really. All of them adored me similarly. The last one definitely the strongest. She was one of my clients and it all started with our passionate talk about replicas, weapons and more. Obviously we moved to something else – our lives, hobbies and opinions._

_Damn, it all clicked. I couldn’t stop thinking about her and couldn’t wait for her to come. I wish I could show you how incredibly beautiful she was. But it was nothing in comparison for her mind! She seemed very caring at first. So we began dating. Everything went smoothly. Just like at any moment. Her presence made me forget all of these thoughts regarding my dark, awful heritage. She really understood me, my struggle and issues with my own person. Somehow she could relate and reassured me that I wasn’t a freak, I wasn’t creepy. She said I was very sweet, very caring and she doubted I could even hurt a fly. She felt very safe around me and so I did as well. I felt safe expressing myself to her even in the ways, which is found worth mocking by some assholes. Nothing was ridiculous or whiny for her._

_I was reassured I was just like her and she seemed to think the same. It brought me so much joy to make her happy with all the gifts I could prepare for her or with little surprises of what she kept telling me she wanted to get but she never could! She did the same even if I did not need it and told her that I don’t want anything in return. She made me even love my unnaturally white hair, which I knew it was connected to these awful genes. She loved it and played with it as we were making braids together. Hair bright as our future as she could say sometimes. I grew out my hair for her._

Another pause.

_For the first time in a long time I was thriving, you know! There were replicas made with her name. Haha, I never thought life could be so enjoyable. But you probably think what happened then, Dante? What did not work? You know? I tend to ask myself the same question but sadly I know the brutal truth. The key is within the demonic energy you brought up here. You’re right. It exists, doesn’t it?_

_All these women said that something about me felt strange – these were their first comments. They ignored it obviously, it was easy to give no shit about this odd feeling. But it became worse especially with my last ex… I remember this day. Hard to forget. I knew already that the cycle was repeated and she began to be terrified of me. It started with ghosting. She pretended that she found a very busy job so that was her reason of not seeing me. I bought it. It sounded reasonable. But when we finally met she acted so strange._

_Her look full of warmth turned into this strange anxiety as she was watching me. I hate this gaze! I decided to confront her about it and ask her what was worrying her so much. At least… at least she was honest with me. She said she felt scared and unsafe around me. I said what reason she had for this. I would never hurt her! She said she had observed that I was not really human, that the stronger my feelings got to her the more she noticed something weirdly dark about me._

_She said I was pretty much like a demon – a demon, who lured his victim to finally kill it. I know, it sounds like something what a crazy person could say. She cried as she said that. She did not want to believe it. She was really skeptical in nature but my presence proved her demons do exist. She stopped seeing a human in me. After she said that she begged me to let her leave as if she expected me to lock her in my room. My heart aches whenever I remember this… I…_

Dante’s voice trembled a little.

_I… I suspect this is the same thing Lady feels already. Even if we aren’t dating but we are really great friends and a good team here. I’m not sure what I was expecting. Demons are meant to live alone. Humans and demons never live together. Mundus tried to hurt our family. Even our father left us, don’t you see? Demons cannot stay with humans because… because we’re predators and humans are demons’ prey. It’s obvious a prey runs away from a predator! What a shocker!_

Yet another pause occurred filling the place with silence once again.

***

“Demons are not capable of love as humans do. It’s just that murderous instinct. Who knows? I should just finally accept that… Accept that I’m just a monster. A creature incapable of living with humans, incapable of forming friendship… incapable of love… devoid of human feelings… doomed to die… alone… and… I…” a lump on his throat formed hampering the words he wanted to form and then the warmth of tears falling over Dante’s cheeks could be felt as they were running down.

“Your mother never left you in horror.” Vergil tried to speak sense to that crying mess Dante was turning into.

Before he heard a reply, it took a while for Dante to compose himself enough to form a speech, which would not be broken by the uncontrollable tremble of his voice… Yet… he failed.

“She’s different, Vergil! She…”

 _She hides her fear and does her duty_ , that was what Vergil managed to conclude from the speech broken by Dante’s quiet sob. 

It was fortunate Dante was not so much like Nero when it comes to the way of expressing their grief. Nero’s voicing and articulation of his strong emotions was always rather loud – with crying being a no exception from that rule. Dante even in this dream reality remained relatively silent with an interruption of sniffing and sighs. Whenever it was possible he wanted to make his sadness go unnoticed as much as possible. An example of that could be seen when he put his head down what made his long, white hair mask his face almost completely.

Vergil felt the strong urge to dismiss all the points Dante tried to make regarding their nature. Hopefully Vergil’s soft and calm voice would be similarly comforting like in the case of Lady.

“I wouldn’t agree demons are devoid of all of these human privileges. Especially when they are half-human.” Vergil spoke calmly “After all… **_Devils Never Cry_** , Dante.”

No response coming to the addressed man could be heard. The silence remained as it had done earlier. Awkward lack of words between the brothers continued then. Dante clearly attempted to compose himself with this slouched position he adopted near his desk and he avoided showing his face through his hair for that moment. Vergil, on the other hand, just paced a little with his face exhibiting some thoughts this man was dragged into suddenly. His younger brother’s mental breakdown just did not make too much sense to him knowing certain facts of this world. Vergil felt the need to bring that up in intention to extinguish Dante’s sudden, overwhelming emotions.

“You know… As much as I understand your struggle...” Vergil began speaking as he was pacing slowly and making proper, subtle gestures with his hands to help delivering his message better “…but there is an important fact you decided to completely ignore.”

Dante’s head rose, what exposed the streaks of tears on his cheeks. It was found interesting for him what his older brother wanted to point out to him what he completely missed.

“If demons are doomed to kill, doomed to never find love, doomed to never feel love… then how can you explain to me how I happened to be happily married and have a son born?” Vergil spoke softly and slowly as if he wanted to make sure Dante would listen to him carefully.

Dante kept gazing at Vergil, who was pacing around the room, all the time but no word of response came from him. As soon as he noticed a pause, his head was put down once again. Apparently the man lacked any ideas for the points Vergil had made.

This silence did not discourage Vergil from continuing his little monologue. Instead of forcing Dante to say anything he continued his speech.

“Since we’re twins there shouldn’t be that much of a difference between us. I felt love towards her and she also loved me back without feeling unsafe around me no matter how strong that feeling was. To the point when she felt safe enough to have a child with me. Have you ever tried to consider this? Put this into perspective? Perhaps it’s not you being a demon what scares the women you love, Dante. Maybe it’s just **you**.”

The accusation angered Dante to the point when he finally stood up from his desk and opened his mouth in response this time.

“There is no option here, Vergil. They always ran away when we started getting really close. At the moment when I always felt the love the strongest. And this is when they always see who I really am, even if I do everything the same as before!”

“Then why, the twin brother, who’s standing just before you, created a family once?” Vergil spoke calmly, almost reactionless to Dante’s anger.

The younger twin wanted to find a good counter for Vergil’s obviously provoking questions, which seemed to have a hidden intention in them. His lips squeezed as he was at loss as finding a good reply and just spoke the simplest explanation he could find on a fly.

“You had to be just lucky.”

The corner of Vergil’s lip squeezed subtly.

“Did I? Or maybe there is one important difference you can find in the details, Dante.”

“Can you just say it already?” Dante spoke impatient and done with Vergil’s games.

“It’s the clear cost of refusing to acknowledge your heritage, Dante. The demon power, which runs through your veins, hates to be ignored, suppressed and forgotten. It will never let you forget its existence no matter how hard you try. What’s worse the suppression is what causes you trouble. You never let yourself to learn how to control it and channel it. That way you see the effects of your neglect.”

Judging by Dante’s expression, which showed his brief reflection on Vergil’s points, perhaps this younger twin started to understand.

“Love is a very strong human feeling. Perhaps it has the ability to bond with the demon power somehow. Uncontrolled, suppressed demon power wants to find a way out. It usually does through the strong human feelings you experience. You managed to suppress your power very well under any other circumstances but love you feel. It’s how the power escapes… The power so strong enough that even humans can sense it even if they aren’t aware what it really is. Since they don’t know what they’re sensing they naturally feel fear towards what’s unknown and strange to them. I highly recommend to think about it, Dante.” Vergil made a longer pause in hopes for Dante to process the suggestion in his last sentence. “Now I believe it’s our time to go home as it’s getting really late.”

“I agree” it was a reply Dante provided and whose meaning was left rather vague. It could be taken as an answer to Vergil’s last words or a response to his suggestion. It could be as well a careful way to reply to both of these.

Just after that both men approached the door of the building to finally leave.


	5. Vergil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The late time forced everyone to go back to their homes. That meant the least pleasant part of the dream coming - Vergil had to face a person, who he couldn't stand to watch - his mother Eva. The awareness of her not being indeed real made him feel awfuly teased by his own dream... but what if it wasn't really a dream? No... It couldn't be...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prepare for feels.

The late evening made everything darken gradually as the time passed until the sky was pitch black with stars and a moon brightening that surrounding darkness. The greenish fields were now hardly recognizable from what they had looked like during a day in the sunlight. It did not mean the innocence of that landscape was gone and now evoked unsetting feelings from its shape distorted by the night’s shadow. The darkness around it served a great purpose in contrasting with the distant view of the town, which was seen from below of the hill.

Vergil was offered a free ride by his younger twin brother as Dante lived somewhere else near the center of the town below. The older brother was supposed to stay with Eva according to the plans he had made after finishing his trip. That was what Dante explained to him.

Maybe he should consider himself lucky in that situation. The location of his home was clearly unknown to him but perhaps the issue could be solved with a help of Dante and just asking for a ride just like he did this time. Even if his brother had happened to be clueless about it somehow, Vergil still remembered very well that it was all a dream he could wake up from at any moment now. Although it seemed apparent the dream did not seem to get any closer to an end to his dissatisfaction. Unhappiness came from an inevitable meeting with his mother once more. Mother… he did not think this entity pretending to be her even deserved to be called this way. It was only an illusion of her. An insulting illusion.

At least the area around the house gave a little breath of relief. A moment of peace with the soft sound coming from the leaves and grass moved by the weak wind. The stars glowing on the sky could be seen clearly and contrasting beautifully with the streetlights coming from the far image of the town. For a moment he wished to capture that moment and bring it back to the reality. Sadly, the reality left the house in crumbling ruins around the entirely destroyed metropolitan’s district to a deadly incident.

The lights seen through the windows outside indicated the elderly woman was not surely asleep yet. It is not like Vergil even hoped she would be already in her bed. It was not even late enough for children to go to sleep yet.

His fist clenched at the thought of facing her again. Watching her aged up, old face and these painfully innocent-looking green eyes staring at him in care and worry. His mother looking so alive and well. In some ways this illusion of his mother was very much real looking, what was even harder to stand than a possible bad copy of her. The fake sense of comfort he felt from seeing her infuriated him and all he desired was to avoid the contact at all cost. If he was not supposed to wake up yet, he had to think of a proper plan, an idea to survive this nightmare.

After a short while, he entered the house taking the first steps in. The first thing attracting his attention was a familiar object leaning on the wall not so far from the front door he had come from. It was long like a sword. It was sheathed like a sword. It looked like Yamato. It was indeed Yamato.

“So no Devil Arm exists, huh?” Vergil muttered to himself as his hand reached to grab it and examine the katana he believed to be his beloved Yamato.

The energy and aura coming from it was an indisputable proof of it being a Devil Arm and specifically Yamato. It was in a way confusing that despite Dante’s certainty about non-existence of Sparda’s gifts – one of them was pretty much there. Perhaps it was also yet another example of Dante’s radical denial about anything related to demons and demonic aura.

Vergil felt more confident carrying a weapon of his own more. Even if it seemed possible a threat coming from the demons ceased to exist in that world some time ago but holding Yamato tended to be a source of comfort in some moments – just like this was one, which he was about to face.

He spotted Eva near the room he just entered. Not exactly a full figure of her could be seen. Vergil faced the back of the couch, which his mother was sitting on in silence. More likely focused on some reading, something she usually did as he managed to recall it from his blurry childhood memories.

Perhaps going to sleep in that dream would bring the opposite but desirable effects, which could be waking up from this hellish nightmare finally, Vergil thought. That was the plan Vergil had for that moment but it needed one more unpleasant interaction with that damned woman. His fist clenched around the Yamato he was carrying.

“I see you’re focused on some good reading.” Vergil’s unexpected voice sounded from behind of her back. A sudden sound, which she did not expect to really hear as she did not even notice him coming home. She nearly jumped on a couch and gasped scared for a brief moment until she turned her head to see a familiar non-threatening person of her son.

“Vergil! You would make me almost die from fear!” she laughed at her own reaction expecting her son to play along with her. Instead Vergil remained reactionless to her amusement.

“Where is the room I am supposed to stay in?” he asked very coldly, avoiding the contact with her as much as possible. His hostility was so clear his mother quickly read it from his angered gaze and tone of his voice. Yet she remained clueless of being a source of it and addressed this strange change on his face, as a caring, concerned mother usually does.

“Did something happen, Vergil? What’s wrong?” she asked as the playful smile dropped from her face. She tried to approach her son but Vergil immediately took a step back.

“I asked you a question. Could you reply to that?” Vergil ignored her worried remarks.

“My son. You know you can tell me everything. I see there is something you don’t want to tell me and struggle with that. I hate to see you like this…”

“I am asking once again. Where’s the room I sleep in?” Vergil’s voice strengthened, got significantly louder.

“Upstairs. I’ll have to show you the exact room there.”

“Then do it quick. And never show your face again.”

She gasped hearing the last sentence, which answered her questions regarding her son’s struggle. She was in disbelief of what she had just heard.

“Why, Vergil? What did I do to you?” her voice showed shock.

“You’re not her. You’ll never be.” he spoke “You’re a dream. A delusion. You’re dead. I don’t want to see what’s not real. No matter how good it is.”

Eva did not fight back with Vergil’s voice. The silence fell over the place. Her eyes looked down on the floor in a moment of reflection. He observed his mother to pace around a little then turn her back. He waited for that reply - another commentary on how he experienced delusions and severe mental illness as how he was perceived in that dream.

Eva turned around once more, facing Vergil front again. This time it was a different woman he had seen earlier. Her face was missing the ageing process, which was quite visible earlier through the wrinkles and graying eyebrows and hair. It was all gone. He was now facing Eva as she looked like before her death. He found that image confusing him.

“I see…” she spoke slowly, approaching Vergil a little, her eyes still stuck on the floor. “Dreams are everything we desire the most but usually we can’t get. They show us unrealistic scenarios as if they were truly real. So real that they hurt.”

Confusion grew on Vergil’s face. Was this now another dream? Another universe from that moment?

“I’m so sorry I dragged you into this weird… strange dream sequence. I really wanted it to be an image of what our lives could be without this tragedy. Without this horrifying invasion of our peaceful house.”

Did she suggest her responsibility of that dream? It couldn’t be true, Vergil thought to himself. At least for a moment confusion replaced the anger he had felt earlier.

“We were supposed to be a happily living family. Me watching my twin sons growing up safely into grown men. And you watching us parents getting just older….” Eva said “That was something I wanted to greet you with… but I guess your own feelings and thoughts get involved into it and twisted it beyond recognition.”

“What do you mean? Are you now trying to say you’re her?” Vergil finally took a voice.

“I am **her** , Vergil. I am your mother, Eva.”

Vergil did not buy it. Anger began to grow in him once again.

“You’re a dream spawned in my head. Perhaps the last nightmare, which Yamato did not get rid of.” he said as he unsheathed the sword. Somehow the woman appeared to be entirely not bothered by that. Even when the edge of the sword pointed at her in a clearly threatening way.

“Dante couldn’t believe as well… But he never threatened to kill me when he saw me for the first time.” Eva commented on Vegil’s behavior, saddened.

“Dante? Apparently your priorities never changed.” Vergil sneered “Strange, how he never told me anything about the dreams of you.”

“You’re not really dreaming, Vergil.” she said as she paced around the place. Vergil’s sword followed her direction. “In this state of mind it’s the only way the lost souls can communicate with the living, conscious beings - when people are asleep or sometimes half-asleep. This is why you can hear so many ghost stories happening deep at night – when people are the most tired.”

“If you’re **communicating** – why was Dante first?”

“He’s more accessible. His mind was somehow more open. Less conflicted, less strictly guarded. It was impossible to reach you as your mind was focused on the only feeling. It was so hermetic, unreachable as if there was a undestructive wall built around it to protect it. It was devastating for me I could never speak to you when you needed it the most like your brother.” She said.

“Interesting.” A smug smile formed on Vergil’s face “But I find it hard to believe Dante would never brag about your meeting.”

“You know that Dante will always keep his promises. And he promised me to never tell you or even anyone about it. Do you know why I asked him to do that? Because I knew it would hurt you… make you feel abandoned for the other brother once more. And I didn’t want your mind to get once again so inaccessible and focused on jealousy towards him. I wanted to communicate with you so badly. And finally… I did” a smile formed on her face at the end of her speech.

The sword went back to its sheath. Confusion was once again the dominant feeling Vergil felt. The place they were in was not really the house anymore. Some of the furniture stayed with characteristic features of a room. From the non-existent walls an odd space could be seen – it could be described as an abyss without anything distinct and recognizable to be seen there.

Vergil paced around gazing at Eva in a way to examine her, find something what proves she is still just a nightmare or indeed real. One thing, which did not let him lean towards the idea of her being just an illusion was that strange energy he could feel from her. A sensation he had not felt when he met her for the first time as an old woman. Despite this feeling he was averse to accepting the possibility the woman before him could be really Eva.

“Why did you come here? What do you want from me? It’s all in the past and should stay that way.” he said.

“I couldn’t just leave you like this without saying a word finally. I feel so responsible for what has happened through these years. Even if my actions aren’t direct but I failed as parent. I failed at my duty.”

“Don’t say such a thing!” Vergil exclaimed angered.

“The thing is… I had the duty to take care of my sons. Protect them and rise them to protect the humanity… You hear the stories of humans selling their souls to demons in exchange of getting a great benefit from it. Such stories miss out so many important details… but technically yes... I sold my soul to Sparda. But he also did the same. A demon sold his soul to the human. A way to strengthen our goal of keeping the humanity safe and hell shut down. The marriage came with an important contract – my duty of rising my sons to protect the humanity, and Sparda having the duty to watch over his sons and the humans, who are vulnerable to demon attacks. I failed at my duty and this is why I am this lost soul, which can only watch and occasionally communicate if possible. I had to watch my sons going insane, being lost and scared.”

“Are you going to live like this? For the whole eternity?”

“No. The contract wasn’t broken as it was concluded between the souls, not the bodies. Its goal can be still fulfilled. When the twin brothers began working together towards protecting the humanity. One of them is committed to that already. But the other one… it’s depressing to see the path you have chosen.”

“I am already aware of the mistakes I’ve committed. I realize what’s the right thing to do already.” Vergil replied defensively.

“The deaths, which you brought to this world with your actions cannot be undone so quickly. You have more blood on your hands from the people your actions murdered, than the blood from the demons you managed to protect them from.” She said.

“What is the right thing, which should be done?” Vergil exclaimed.

“Fix the actions, which undone everything your own father did in order to keep humans safe. Slaying demons isn’t everything. I can’t help you more with that. Until then I am going to stay here in this nothingness until one of you finally falls asleep so I can once more live for these a few hours in your consciousness. And then the cycle repeats I come back to this state of void, non-existence… But it’s all my fault. I am really responsible for my own torment and I partially contributed to what happened in Red Grave City, what happened to the innocent city attacked by the demons unleashed from the opened hell gates. I failed to protect as I promised to do. It’s a reasonable punishment, Vergil. I failed to hold the weight of a responsibility of bonding with a powerful demon.” She finished with her voice lowering and getting quieter than usually as she had spoken earlier.

“You were… are just a human woman. How could you possibly survive that demon invasion?”

“I could just never decide to bring such innocent lives into this cruel world. Sparda warned me that he had many enemies hunting him down even if weakened. I should have listened. I should have not bring you into such an awful life. But… But I foolishly thought everything would be fine… That we would make a normal family.” tears welled up in Eva’s eyes. 

“It would be possible… if not for Mundus.” Vergil replied “His life must be ended for good. I promise I’ll do it with my own hands and free your soul that way.”

The tone of Vergil’s voice sounded fierce with the idea he was committed to. Once again the awful demon was responsible for their family’s and world’s tragedy. His gross actions crippling every aspect of their lives.

Eva nodded at Vergil’s suggestion but with a visibly sad expression forming on her face. Even her eyes did not look her son’s for that moment. But then a small smile formed on her soft face. Her innocent, forgiving eyes looked at him once again. This time with something else to say what she wanted to do for longer time. It seemed like she was willing to approach her son and give him a hug. She truly missed her other son.

“Despite all of things I’ve just told you… I am… I am so happy to see you back!” her voice broke into a sob as she admitted that “You can’t imagine how many times I wanted to reach you! There were moments when I thought you were gone. Dead! As I started losing hope of communicating with you like with Dante! Just like your brother I believed for a moment you died. That my son died. Lost to Mundus – this awful demon. We both mourned your death so much together. But… But… you’re alive!”

The rest of her vocabulary was pure, honest sobbing as an expression of her both relief and grief of seeing her lost son once again – safe and well. She searched for a support in a form of a hug. Without really asking her arms reached Vergil and wrapped them around him without his say. No protest coming from the man could be seen but his figure froze in somewhat confusion, uncertainty and disbelief.

Her position quickly changed and freed Vergil from that unexpected tight hug. Suddenly she grabbed his hands to investigate them for a brief moment. As if she was touching them to make sure the son standing before her was indeed real. Then the hands moved to his face in a similar manner – to watch all the details, observe his facial features to recognize in them the small, innocent, precious boy he had been once.

“You’re really here! My son. My Vergil!” she said with her voice dramatically shaking as she hugged him tightly again. “All safe and sound… as I wanted you to find then… but I never did.”

Vergil’s mind went into a blank state - in a way he dissociated. For a moment he felt nothing inside. His gaze kept moving around all Eva’s characteristic facial features in a similar purpose to what his mother did by her hands. But nothing what he registered rose any distinct emotion - not even her devastated, painful expression, which she possessed as she was desperately making sure the man standing before her was real.

His mind was empty and in a way stuck in that strange, dissociated state. Even his expression, which he adopted, was hard to interpret – not even as stoic or indifferent. No change on his face could be really seen as Eva investigated his “realness” with her hands. He moved almost like a mannequin pushed by Eva’s delicate gestures.

_You’re here! My son. My Vergil! Come here. Go to Dante and hide Vergil! Hide in the white wardrobe, where he is! You mustn’t leave. We’ll make through this together safely. I promise!_

Eva squeezed him once again in a similar manner as she had done before. There were many words she would love to say to express her joy of seeing her son after nearly forty years of separation but her tears carried even more meaning than long heartfelt confessions.

Once Vergil accepted that the woman before him was indeed, who she claimed to be, the shock was the first thing he had felt as she had hugged him first. The paralyzing feeling had faded quickly to be replaced by a similarly shared mix of grief and joy he felt towards Eva. Guilt being yet another addition to this bag of intense emotions and thoughts.

Guilt originating from the anger directed at his mother for so long. The anger being a reason for all the cusses he had ever thought of towards Eva. Despite being aware of his reaction being irrational there were moments when he had felt like blaming this woman before him for his life and people wronging him. For anything his life failed at him. But once the worse times were over and he had a better grip on his life course, the past hatred went into oblivion – without reflecting how awful, unfair and disgusting his thoughts were. Vergil never reflected the memory of her without anger he felt towards his fate – as if he wanted to forget she had ever existed.

Finally his arms also wrapped around his mother, who was too distracted by her own emotional outbreak to register it quickly.

Shortly later, she felt she was being tightly hugged by Vergil as well. He freed from the hug quickly as she had risen her head and had gasped silently in a little surprise. Eva watched her son’s face once again and at the moment she did not see the same confused expression as before – the blank face, which was hard to read. Nor the angered nearly hate, fierce stare she had seen at the very beginning as she had been threatened by the unsheathed Yamato directed at her. It was a new image to gaze at and then reflect on instantly for a caring mother of a grown son standing before her.

Drops of tears could be seen rolling on Vergil’s cheeks as they both faced each other once again without saying much. His eyes gazing at her finally saw her not as a threat, an infuriating illusion teasing his grief but as a mother, who he loved and missed every day. A muted sob escaped his mouth as he watched her then his look moved on the ground in a search of way to compose himself. Eva smiled under her own similarly broken expression – the little joy coming from the fact they finally formed a full connection and communication as she had been fighting for, for so long. There was no longer a wall, which her son hid behind. No denial and dissociation disrupting their contact.

“It’s been… so many lonely and scary decades.” Vergil spoke - as his voice trembled, while he tried to catch air.

“Shush… I’m here.” she rubbed his shoulders with both of her hands “If you don’t believe our meeting was truly real, please take it as a gift from me. We’re sadly running out of time.”

Her hand reached out, showing an amulet – but quite different from the one, which Vergil was gifted as a young boy. The old one was quite large – with a giant, red mineral in the middle. This one she wanted to give him was made of silver and possessed a very simple and fine shape just like the silver chain, which the tiny ornament hanged on.

“Please don’t wear it yet. Take it to your hand and keep it until this dream-like state ends.” she asked.

Vergil watched the amulet given to him… or at least he tried to see anything from the blurred vision from the still gathering tears in his eyes despite the attempts at keeping them in check. He could not really tell what kind of shape that was or what it represented, it was so tiny and subtle.

And did she say they were running out of time? Just now? When he wanted her to finally stay?

“Wait, how are we out of time?” Vergil said with a tone disappointment mixed with sadness “Are you leaving?” after a short pause he added with a voice breaking “Again?”

“Your mind is slowly getting awake. It means we’re getting to an end of our… meeting.” she said with her voice disclosing sadness about this fact but it did not sound as depressed as Vergil’s “We will meet again. I can’t promise it will happen on the next night. Or the next few night’s… But we will see each other, as I can finally communicate with you too.”

Vergil’s lips squeezed – mostly as an attempt to keep himself composed and not breaking completely – but the expression looked simply like he tried not to bawl. There were many things he wanted to tell her, many things to ask, many things to say just to have her stay around. But the limit came with their way of communication – the dream, which does not last forever. It frustrated him and upset him incredibly especially when he could not be sure when Eva would be able to communicate with him once again. If ever again… as she told him the issues of getting in contact with him.

She gave him the last warm hug – the soft one, which he remembered getting in his childhood whenever something troubled him. Eva spoke “We’ll make through this together. The time of our separation is temporary. I’ll be back as soon as possible.”

Shortly after she finished the last sentence, her voice was replaced by the dead silence. Eva was gone but so the left-over of the mansion disappeared as well. Once lively and colorful images he had seen were pitch black. Even his own person was gone from that ending dream.

***

His eyes opened with a little of trouble due to how heavy they felt. The intense dreaming took a tool on him to the point when he felt tired despite being asleep for many hours. His mind was still invested in what he had experienced in a dream – he was still shaken by what he had seen, what he had listened. But disappointment quickly replaced Vergil’s daze.

As he became more awake the more he realized his meeting with Eva was only just dreaming. Just like the dreams she had been supposed to send to him as a pleasant greeting. She was only a memory, a thought – Eva, who he had met that night, was not real. It should not be so surprising and disappointing, he thought. But the heavy feeling on his chest could be felt as he dwelled more and more on this.

He sat on a bed – slouching and supporting his posture by his arms. That was when he noticed a fine line coming from his clenched hand.

The interesting hand was brought closer to watch, what was held inside by it. To his own surprise it was the same amulet he had been given by Eva. It had nearly the same resemblance – from what he had managed to see from his blurred vision. The silver chain was as tiny as it was in the dream and the part hanging on it small as his memory told. Vergil faced the same issue of identifying the shape of it but the blurriness of his vision came from a long sleep he had woken up not so long time ago.

Perhaps it was supposed to be a sneaky gift given by someone? Nero, who lived in the same flat but slept on a different room. Nico… she did not live with them but she could be the first person Vergil would suspect for doing such a prank if she stayed on that night.

Could this be Nero? Vergil wondered.

The energy resonating from the amulet did not feel like something just crafted by humans. He could not even sense it as anything close to demonic the more he was awake. It was tempting to examine the necklace once again as his vision became sharper, more ready to read the smallest details from it.

Once again his eyes focused around the tiny ornament of the silver, fine chain. This time he spotted it had a shape of a letter E – his mother’s first initial, which had decorating carved. No way Nero would guess her name and her first initial. That was a topic, which was never moved by the time.

This had to be what the dream suggested. The more Vergil thought about this the wider his eyes were opened, which stared at the necklace.

“It can’t be?” he told to himself shocked, remembering the moment of the dream, in which he had been given it.

He stood up from his bad, pacing around nervously still processing what had actually happened. What it all meant. But surely the other thing could not lie about the amulets origin – its own aura. He did not sense demonic energy from it, it felt very different from it in a way – less threatening and overwhelming as energy from hell did. The nature of this sensation was more subtle and soft – it gave a different level of feeling.

Indeed. It had to be Eva – in a certain form, which lost souls take as they visit their close ones.

The acceptance of this very likely possibility gave a different perspective on the dream, he was just recalling. Especially the moment when Eva had been in shock about the realization that she had finally reached him, had finally spoke to him. Vergil remembered her hugs, her tearful joy, her face smiling to see him well and alive.

He could feel his vision blurring once again… but it had been a while since his eyes recovered from the sleep.


End file.
